Conner

 

I have to brag for a minute about my eldest son, Conner. He seems to be in the background often, and I don't talk about him much in my blog because he doesn't like his picture taken- he has entered "that" stage. He is truly amzing. He is the ultimate big brother to all of his siblings, he is kind and patient and loves to play with them. He cooks, he loves to try new recipes and is actually pretty good at it. He is smart, he got a 4.0 this year in 6th grade with 3 honors courses and also learned how to play the trumpet. He is oh so thoughtful, on Mother's day he brought me breakfast in bed, cooked by him--pink german pancakes shaped like a heart. He also got Jackson to learn to sing "Mother I love You" while he played it on the trumpet. It was supposed to be a secret, but I could hear him practicing the whole weekend before he did it. Still made my heart full to hear him do it for me. I have been so very blessed to have Conner as my son. This past week they had an awards ceremony at schol, and he recieved one of two academic achievement awards for the year. What a kid! Love him.

Rear-view mirror

 

Driving home from school one night I was looking in the rear view mirror and noticed the most amazing sunset. It was dark pink, almost red. It made me want to turn around and just watch it but I knew that I couldn't very well drive that way so I thought I would just look at it when I got home. I was in a hurry to get on with whatever I had to do-- as usual. As I progressed toward home, (driving East) I noticed that the colors were getting more and more intense and I was dying to watch it. I managed to snap a few photos with my phone at a stoplight, but couldn't do it justice. Just a few minutes from home the sun was almost down and the sunset had dissipated. When I pulled into the driveway, I also realized that due to positioning of our home, we don't have a great view of the sunsets. Too many trees and homes in the way. I felt a little let down as I walked inside.

It occurred to me as I was looking through photos and saw this one, that my life is like that sunset. If I am not careful, I will miss the beautiful, special; poignant moments that happen because I am in such a hurry to move on to something else. My life is especially busy with the mundane day to day tasks of living in a house with 9 other humans. BUT it is also rich and full of wonderful moments that if I don't stop and recognize them for what they are, I will miss them. Looking through my rear-view mirror was only a glimpse of what that amazing sunset was like, and if I had only stopped for a few moments to appreciate it fully, I would have the full memory, instead of just a glimpse. I feel like this past year has been like that sunset. I gave birth to my sweet babies over 14 months ago, and yet it feels like only a moment ago. I hope that I don't get so wrapped up in the day to day necessities and distractions that I forget to stop and enjoy the moments. That is all our lives really are, a whole bunch of moments and it is up to us to stop and take the time to really appreciate and learn from them.

Frustrations

 

I need to vent. First, let me clarify that I LOVE being a mom. I love my kids with all my heart and then some. Hence the reason they are still around.

DISCLAIMER: I realize this post may sound very dramatic, especially in light of much more serious frustrations such as health issues, money problems etc. I am blessed right now to not be dealing with many of those bigger issues. I do have many daily struggles that do not include the below mentioned, but are more personal or topics for another post.

Ok, now for the venting. I was driving home from dropping the oldest 6 at school this morning, reflecting on being a mom of 8 gorgeous, smart, talented kids who bring us a lot of joy. They also bring us- (ME) a lot of intense frustration. This morning I spent at least 20 frantic minutes looking for missing shoes. Alex and Benson have probably 8 pairs of shoes between them and I found a total of 2 this morning. I found about 6 lone shoes whose mates have been abducted, I think. I searched high and low, in the back yard, in the garage even! *Scratching head* I haven't a clue what those kids do with their shoes. Bury them probably.

Which brings me to my next frustration, socks. Why can't they invent socks that are attracted to their mates, so they never get lost? We have a HUGE tub full of socks. I mate them about 2 times a year and for a month or so we all get to enjoy pulling mated socks out to wear each day. Then, unfortunately the joy ends and we all have to find our own mates again. So, that is usually what I am doing in the mornings- either finding mates for Alex and Benson, or picking up spilled socks from the tub. Joy. (Hence the picture above of Spencer, surrounded by socks just before church.)

More of my frustrations: finding dirty dishes anywhere BUT the kitchen. Especially if it is a rotten bottle that tends to explode when touched. Ewww. My kids love to take food to the backyard and enjoy the weather, but forget to bring their dishes back. Cleaning up spilled anything is just not fun for me, and usually occurs on a daily basis. I also loathe cleaning off marker or pen off of the walls. Benson recently decided not to color on the walls, but take a xacto knife to them. Still working on fixing that mess. Painting while children are around is a whole 'nother story.

Summer vacation is coming up, plenty of time for wearing sandals and bare feet and forgetting about socks and shoes all together! It will sure be nice not having to drag kids out of bed every morning to start the hunt all over again. Doesn't solve all of my problems, but you know as soon as they are all grown I will have grand kids around, so I just give up on having anything nice.

Puddles

 

I took my boys to the doctor today for their 1 year checkup. Yeah, we are a bit behind. Not really my fault though, scheduling has set us back that much. Anyway, the babies are doing well. Spencer is 20 lbs 10 oz. and in the 7th percentile for weight. Ha. Never had a kid so small, I guess you could say he is the runt of the litter! Gabriel is 22 lbs 15 oz and in the 60th percentile for weight. Go figure. They are both adorable as ever though, and getting into things as I type. Oh, and leaving puddles of drool wherever they go. Literally.

5 Minutes before Church

Sunday mornings are a bit chaotic for me. Chris is gone by 6:00 am and I am left to fend for myself and get us all to church before 9. Some Sundays, it is all I can do to get there on time only to find I have forgotten some important items like bottles for the babies. Other Sundays, I must be pushed along by unseen angels and find that I have enough time left over to snap a quick picture of my sweet kids before we herd into the bus.

Last Sunday, it was a beautiful day and I wanted to get a picture of my kids in their church duds. This is what I got after 5 minutes of cajoling and making funny faces. Yeah, it is far from perfect with the sun in their eyes and Alex refusing to smile and the babies trying to crawl away. That's ok. I love it, because it is them. It is a moment in time that I can hold on to when most days time seems to be slipping through my fingers.

We did make it to church on time, but I still forgot the bottles. I survived.

The many faces of Alex

(the above photos were taken by Alex himself. Dirty face and all, I think they are cute.)

Alex and I were having a converstation about how smart he is this morning. He amazes me daily with how much he knows, and he is only 4. I told him he needed to do something really cool, because not very many people are that smart. He said he wants to be a doctor. I said "that's really neat! You will be a great doctor taking care of people." Then I asked him what kind of doctor he wants to be. He thought for a minute and after some suggestions from me said he wants to deliver babies. I said "Ohh, that will be so much fun! I will be your nurse." Then he said: "I want a blue truck to deliver babies." Gave me a good chuckle. He is such a good kid. I can't wait to see what he will do with his big 'ol brain.